Oberthur Technologies, the world’s second largest provider of security and identification solutions and services based on smart card technologies, has announced Mehdi Elhaoussine as the new convergence and solutions director for the Americas Region, reporting directly to Martin Ferenczi, managing director of the Americas Region for the card systems division at Oberthur Technologies.

Elhaoussine will lead the region’s activities for Oberthur Technologies payment and mobile convergent platform, including near field communications (NFC) applications and fully managed trusted service management (TSM) services, over-the-air (OTA) service administration platforms, mobile money and smart authentication solutions for online e-shopping and e-banking.

Elhaoussine and his team will provide these convergence and solutions services to mobile operators, banks and transit authorities.

Commented Ferenczi: “His extensive industry background in the field of mobile financial services will be instrumental in Oberthur Technologies’ ongoing initiatives in North and South America to provide our customers secured, enhanced opportunities to leverage the mobile phone and Internet channels.”

“We are extremely pleased to have Mehdi join us. His extensive industry background in the field of mobile financial services will be instrumental in Oberthur Technologies’ ongoing initiatives in North and South America to provide our customers secured, enhanced opportunities to leverage the mobile phone and Internet channels,” Ferenczi continued.

Prior to joining Oberthur Technologies, Elhaoussine was employed as the EMEA region general manager with CASSIS International, a provider of TSM platforms. Additionally, his experience in the field of NFC and mobile money was further enhanced as a consultant with France Telecom/Orange group and the World Bank.

Elhaoussine has an engineering degree from Ecole Centrale de Nantes and an MBA from IAE Aix-en-Provence.